Book Weeds

I’m slowly discovering that I have a serious problem…

I can’t get rid of books. It’s a compulsion or obsession or some other “sion”. Whatever it is, it’s beginning to drive me nuts. Or maybe it’s the other way around and I do it because I’m nuts. I’m not sure how it started or even when, but it is (literally) physically painful to get rid of a book unless I have accidentally purchased 2 copies of the same text. Deciding which books to get rid of is as painful as killing my own children would be (although, some days it might be easier to kill the kids). I pick up a book I haven’t read in years and think, “Am I ever going to reread this book?” The answer will be NO but then my brain starts in on the “what ifs” and “buts.”

What if a movie version of the book comes out…
But it took me forever to find a copy of that book…
What if I get excited about that genre or topic again…
But it’s a first edition…
What if I read another book with similar ideas and I want to look back over this…
But I made notes in that book…
And so on until I feel sick.

So, I will put the book back on the shelf and keep it. I’ll go through this over and over again, getting rid of maybe 1 out of every 30-40 books I consider. The truth is that half the time I’ve gotten rid of a book I find myself wanting it again at some point in the future.

However, regardless of how I feel I need to remove some of my books. We’re in a state at my house. My wife is looking for a job and it’s highly likely her job search will force us to move. I need to slim down my collection, but I can’t bring myself to abandon one of my babies.

I’m not sure why I’m posting this here… but it does feel better to rant about it a bit.